When it comes to grand spectacle combined with thrilling action, James Cameron is arguably one of Hollywood’s greatest exponents. The prolific director has made some of the industry’s most iconic films that have swept people off their feet. From Terminator, True Lies, and Titanic, to the Avatar films, Cameron has left no stone unturned to create drama and magic on screen.
The Oscar winner has also been known to make bold statements about superhero franchises. Cameron has openly talked about his skepticism toward the Marvel Cinematic Universe while comparing his films like Avatar to the Marvel films. Despite his criticisms, the Terminator filmmaker had a small but important influence on an X-Men film that ultimately made a big difference in the responses that it received.
James Cameron Had This Creative Tip For Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine
James Cameron’s stature in Hollywood today allows the director the luxury of not mincing words when talking about other films and directors. The True Lies filmmaker has been vocal about his disapproval of the Marvel franchise and the MCU as he felt that their approach to character development did not impress him. Despite not being a fan, Cameron was influential in giving X-Men: Days of Future Past an important facelift.
The film’s director Bryan Singer consulted James Cameron on the climax in which Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine wakes up in an alternate timeline that resulted in the director and his editor incorporating a blurry visual effect to add nuance to the character’s predicament. But when Singer ran this idea by Cameron, the Titanic filmmaker was unimpressed with the use of the blurring technique as he felt that it masked the real intention of the scene. Speaking to IGN, Singer recalled his conversation with Cameron and said,
“So I sent that to Jim, and Jim called me and goes, ‘Bryan, that blurry thing made me think that the wool was going to be pulled out from under me, and I was not satisfied. I thought it was lie and that it would fail, and it would all be dark. Then suddenly it was okay.'”
Singer decided to go with James Cameron’s gut instinct for the character and eventually did away with the blurring effect in the film. The Marvel filmmaker went on to add that this was the only suggestion that the Avatar director had made while stating that he loved how the film had turned out otherwise.
James Cameron Turned Down Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Idea For Terminator 2
From his small but significant suggestion to Bryan Singer for the climax of X-Men: Days Of Future Past, James Cameron proved that he is a master of detailing and instinct. The filmmaker’s ability to understand the fine line between success and failure, was evident in his decision-making in Terminator 2: Judgement Day. In the film, Arnold Schwarzenegger returns as a cyborg but in a completely different avatar to his killing ways in the first film. Now a hero sent back in time to save young John Connor, Schwarzenegger’s portrayal received rave reviews from action buffs and fans of the former Mr. Olympia.
But the True Lies star confessed that he was not happy with being termed a hero in the film as he wanted his character to be the antagonist who would have even more chilling and dark shades when compared to the first film. James Cameron though, was completely unimpressed by the idea. Not only did the filmmaker think that this would not work, but he also felt that his lead star was delusional to assume that this idea would turn out to be a winning one. Ultimately, Cameron’s persistence and stubbornness ensured that Schwarzenegger’s idea did not see the light of day. This decision by the Oscar-winning director turned out to be the best result for the film.
Source: IGN
